Tissue dispensing device



April 4, 1953 J. MANDEL 2,634,855

TISSUE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1951 Gttomeg Patented Apr. 14,1953

UITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TISSUE DISPENSING DEVICE Jacob Mandel, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application September 4, 1951, Serial No. 244,892

3 Claims. (01. 206-57) The present invention is directed to holders for sheets of paper, more particularly to a boxlike structure which is in common use for holding and dispensing sanitary tissues.

Devices of this type are usually made of paper having a flap on the top thereof covering an opening whereby access to a bundle of tissues in the container is provided. As the tissues are removed, one must insert the hand deeper into the container and in view of the presence of the flap, this becomes inconvenient and particularly so towards the bottom of the container.

Various devices have been proposed for overcoming this dimculty and there has been provided a box-like structure having a hinged bottom and an opening in the top thereof. The tissues were placed in the container through the open bottom and a plate was inserted on the bundle of tissues. At the rear of the plate was riveted a leaf spring,

the ends of which were adapted to contact the ed the value of the tissues therein. Furthermore,

the spring, if sufficiently strong to press the tissues towards the opening, would tend to push the top tissues out of the container.

In another proposed device the container itself had the bottom out so as to provide flaps of relatively complicated structure, which flaps were raised and interlaced. This left openings at the bottom which would allow dirt to enter. Also, the position of the flaps caused a bowing of the tissues so that they could not be readily extracted from the container. The flaps were relatively weak and often became misplaced so that they did not perform their intended function.

The present invention is intended and adapted to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages inherent in devices of the type described, it being among the objects of the present invention to provide a device associated with a container for sanitary tissues and the like which may be inserted into said container without alteration of the structure thereof.

It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide a device of the character described, which is simple in construction, which requires very little operation in assembly and which is quite inexpensive to produce.

It is further among the objects of the present invention to provide a resilient means for raising a bundle of tissues in a container, which is highly effective for its intended purposes and which is free from any of the above mentioned disad vantages in prior structures.

In practicing the present invention there is provided a flat piece of cardboard which is of a size and shape approximately that of the container. It is scored transversely so as to provide a line or lines along which the cardboard may hinge. An elastic, usually in the form of a band, is attached to the side panels of the cardboard, thus tending to urge the same together and raise the central portion of the cardboard to tend to push the bundle of tissues upwardly towards the top opening.

In the accompanying drawing constituting a part hereof and in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a container filled with tissues and having in the bottom thereof the device of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the container partially empty of tissues;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of device, and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a container with tissues, showing the device of Fig. 4 in operative position.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the container I here shown as being rectangular has an opening 2 which is normally closed by a flap (not shown) and being filled with tissues 3.

Underneath the tissues is provided a flat cardboard 4 approximately filling the container, said cardboard being scored transversely along line 5, whereby a hinge is provided. The scoring provides two side panels 6 having notches or slots I and 8 on opposite sides thereof. An endless rubber band is inserted in the notches, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3, with the end portions 9 and H extending over the top of panels 6 and the intermediate portions I0 thereof extending underneath the same.

In the position shown in Fig. l, the elastic band is under its maximum tension and, therefore, exerts its maximum upward force on cardboard 4. The maximum weight of tissue opposes the upward force. Then as tissues are removed the tension on the elastic band is decreased but the weight of the tissues is also decreased so that a suitable force is maintained at all times, keeping the top tissues at the top of the container. There is no tendency for the tissues to be forced out of the top of the container because when the last few tissues remain, the tension on the elastic band is almost zero.

In Figs. 4 and there is shown a slightly modified form of the invention in which the cardboard member includes a central support l2 formed by two transverse sco-rings l3 and I4 spaced a substantial distance apart. This provides a relatively large area Which acts as a supporting surface for the bundle of tissues and avoids their accidentally becoming folded.

On either side of support l2 are side panels l5, each of which has a cut-out portion [6 forming a flap I! which is folded towards the ends of the cardboard. An elastic band I8 is placed under the cardboard and extends through openings or slots I9, which are covered by flaps IT. The ends 26 of the elastic band are placed over the top of flaps I1. Thus the device is very easily assembled. The operation thereof is the same as the device of Figs. 1 to 3, with the additional advantage that a better support for the tissues is provided.

Although the invention has been described setting forth the specific embodiments thereof, the invention is not to be limited thereto as various changes in the details of construction may be made within the spirit of the invention. For instance, the cardboard need not be rectangular but may be of any suitable shape and it need not cover the entire bottom of the container. The scorings, while being transversely arranged, may be placed otherwise, as for instance, at an acute angle to the sides of the cardboard and the term as used in the claims is intended to include other positions of the scorings. The materials used for the device may be either of paper, cardboard, plastic, or any suitable material of construction. The elastic band need not be endless and may be attached by stapling or other means which are considered to be the equivalent of the slots described herein.

These and other changes may be made without departing from the principles herein set forth and the invention is to be broadly construed and not to be limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A tissue dispensing carton comprising a container having an opening at the top thereof for the removal of said tissues, a pack of parallel tissues in said container, the plane of said tissues being substantially parallel to the top and bottom of said container, a flat cardboard in the bottom of said container below said pack, said cardboard having a pair of spaced transverse scorings cen- 5 trally thereof forming three sections which are a central support and a pair of side panels, an opening in the central portion of each of said side panels, an elastic band on the under side of said cardboard and secured between said side panels in said openings under tension so as to cause said central support to exert upward pressure on said pack.

2. A tissue dispensing carton comprising a container having an opening at the top thereof for the removal of said tissues, a pack of parallel tissues in said container, the plane of said tissues being substantially parallel to the top and bottom of said container, a flat cardboard in the bottom of said container below said pack, said cardboard having a pair of spaced transverse scorings centrally thereof forming three sections which are a central support and a pair of side panels, an opening in the central portion of each of said side panels, an elastic band on the under side of said cardboard and secured between said side panels in said openings under tension so as to cause said central support to exert upward pressure on said pack, each of said anels having a flap integral with said cardboard, said flaps being folded onto said cardboard, the ends of said band extending through said openings and overlying said flaps and being held in position thereby.

3. A tissue dispensing carton comprising a container having an opening at the top thereof for the removal of said tissues, a pack of parallel tissues in said container, the plane of said tissues being substantially parallel to the top and bottom of said container, a fiat cardboard in the bottom of said container below said pack, said cardboard having a pair of spaced transverse scorings centrally thereof forming three sections which are a central support and a pair of side panels, an opening in the central portion of each of said side panels, an elastic band on the under side of said cardboard and secured between said side panels in said openings under tension so as to cause said central support to exert upward pressure on said pack, each of said panels having a flap integral with said cardboard, said flaps being folded onto said cardboard, the ends of said band extending through said openings and overlying said flaps and being held in position thereby, each of said flaps being folded towards the adjacent end of said cardboard.

JACOB MANUEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 470,906 Whitelaw Mar. 15, 1892 2,185,605 Murphy et al. Jan. 2, 1940 2,331,035 Lundstrom Oct. 5, 1943 

